Vacuum cleaner switch



March 9, 1937. E, LQFGREN 2,073,244

' VACUUM CLEANER SWITCH Filed Nov. 22, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 J ATTORNEY March 9, 1937. e. E. LOFGREN VACUUM CLEANER SWITCH Filed Nov. 22, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATILORNEY March 9, 1937. E, L F REN 2,073,244

VACUUM CLEANER SWITCH Filed NOV. 22, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 4. ATTORNEY March 9, 1937. G LQFGREN 2,073,244

VACUUM CLEAiIER SWITCH Filed Nov. 22, 1933 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Mar. 9, 1937,

PATENT OFFICE VACUUM CLEANER SWITCH Gustaf Einar Lofgren, Rye, N. Y., asslgnor to Electrolux Corporation, Dover, DeL, a corporation of Delaware 1 Application November 22, 1933, Serial No. 699,097 [14 Claims. (01. 2oo-52) My invention relates to vacuum cleaners and more particularly to actuating apparatus for switch mechanism therefor.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a switch actuating means which can be easily operated by the foot.

'I'he nature and advantages of my invention will be clear from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and of which:

. Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional longitudinal view of a vacuum cleaner unit embodying the'inven- 'tion;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 with certain of the parts removed;

Fig. 3 is a .top view of switch actuating mechanism embodying theinvention;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; v

a Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5--5 v of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-45 oi Fig. 4;

Fig. '7 is a sectional view taken on the 'line Fig. 8 is aside view of part of the switch actuating mechanism;

Fig. 9 is a top view of another form of the invention;

gm Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken on the line i@itl of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken on the line M-M of Fig. 10;

Fig. 12 is a sectional view takenon the line i2-l2 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 13 is a sectional view taken on the line It-i8 of Fig. 10;

Fig. 14 is a top view of another form of the invention. q

are Fig. 15 is a sectional view taken on the line i5-i5 of Fig. 14;

Fig. 1-6'is a sectional view taken on the line lB-it of Fig. 15;

Fig. 17 is a sectional view taken on the line as tl-l'l of Fig. 15;

Fig. 18 is a perspective view of a detail; and

Fig. 19 is a sectional view taken o'nthe line 59-49 of Fig. 15;

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, a vacuum cleaner 50 unit H! is mounted on a carpet or surface II by means of runners l2 fastened to end rings 9 and i3 at the ends of a barrel IS. The barrel is preferably cylindrical. inder are mounted a forward handle bracket It to and a rear handle bracket or housing H. The

On the, top of the cyl-- handle l8 has an end pin 19 slidably mounted in the forward bracket l6 and an end pin 20 retained in the rear bracket II. The end members 2| and 22 are secured to the forward and rear rings 9 and I3 respectively by any suitable means 5 such as spring clips 23.

Within the casing of the vacuum cleaner unit is a motor 24 resiliently mounted on a ring I4 made of electrically non-conducting material attached to ring 9. The motor is connected to 10 drive a fan 25 for causing flow of air into the inlet opening 26 through a dust bag 2! and" out through the outlet opening 28. The motor 24 is supplied with electricity by means of leads 29 which are connected to a switch mechanism 30. 15 The switch mechanism is shown more in detail in Fig. '7 and includes contact pieces 3i and 32 adapted to be contacted by a contact roller 38 mounted on a slotted bar 34 and adapted to travel on a track 35. The bar 34 engages and is moved 20 by a pivoted switch arm 36 pivoted at 31 to a frame 38 secured as by screws 39 and 40 to the ring I4. A spring surrounding member presses against member 36. A rounded head ti on the upper end of lever 36 sets in a recess '52 in a 25 switch bar 53 which is manually movable horizontally and transversely in recesses M in the rear 'handle bracket ll. Screw 89 is provided with an moved to the left whereby the lower end of lever 36 is moved .to the right and this causes snap action movement of the roller 83 to the left away from the contact pieces 3i and 32, thus breaking the .electrical connection.

The switch bar M has a notch 88 on the upper side thereof into which fits a pivoted shaft member t9, so-called because it has an end Ell which may be round or of other shape, on which is loosely journalled a roller 5i.- The shaft member or lever 49 passes through the recess 48 and is pivoted about a stud-bolt 52 which passes through the end cap ill and is screwed into-ring 9. The shaft member 49 extends loosely through a hori- 50 zontal recess 54 in the cover member or bracket ll and the roller 58 is outside the cover. It will A be noted that the parts are all loosely put together and no fine machine work is required. The roller is substantially in the form of a hemisphere 55 and rests in a channel 56 formed by a plate 51 which has a flange 58 held under the cover plate. Member Bl is rounded and provides a bearing sur face for the roller iii. The stud-bolt 62 serves to hold all of the parts 20, i1, 43, d9, 5! and El in position.

The purpose of the roller 59 is to provide a switch actuating mechanism which can be easily operated by the foot. The cleaner unit of the kind shown in Fig. 1 rests on the floor and may stand approximately eight inches high. The 'operator has a suction hose in the hand which is connected to the inlet 2 6. The roller 5! obviates the necessity .of bending over to push the switch bar 43. The foot can be placed on the roller and rolled whereupon arm or shaft member file will be swung and will engage one side or the other of the groove 68 to move the switch bar and cut the motor. in or out. The arrangement is'such that pressure on the roller 5i causes no friction between member 69 and the adjacent parts. The

roller extends above the bracket or housing ll.

The housing may be'p'rovided with a raised rim 59 to prevent the foot from scratching the top surface of the casing it which may be polished or nickel-plated. Aline scratch on the raised rim 59 would not detract from the appearance. The

roller 5! isknurled to obtain good contact with the foot. The stop 35 limits lateral movement of the shaft member Q9. By mounting the roller loosely on the shaft member the foot may continue' to rotate the roller although the member 69 has come to the limiting position. The device is sturdy and can withstand abuse and yet is easy to operate. I v Fig. 9 shows another embodiment of the invention in which the shaft member 62 corresponding to the part 69 of the previous embodiment is pivoted intermediate its ends on the stud-bolt 52. The roller 58 is loosely mounted on the end of arm 62 and rides in a channel dd formed in a casting 65 which also holds the pin- Zll of the handle it. A ridge 5%; is formed in the casting forthe purpose previously described. With this arrangement the roller moves inthe opposite direction from the hand switch bar 453 asclearly appears in Fig. 11. By placing the roller 5i between the switch hand bar 543 and handle it, a removable contact plug 53 may be inserted in an opening dd so as to unify the electrlcalconnections. The plug is inserted onto contactpoints 55. Thus a unitary housing is provided for holding the end of the handle,.for containing the conhousing I! and rests in the U-shapedplate membar it which is formed with shoulders ll providing bearing surface for the roller El. The roller has a centr'allyknurled portion and laterally reduced portions which rest on the shoulders H. The shaft member 83 has downwardly projecting parts '82 which fit between the member w and hand bar 68. This afiords easy assembly inasmuch as the meimbw at can be placed on the hand bar and inserted in the recess it inwhich the part 69 moves and this sub-assembly is held in place by the bracket or housing. ill, all of the parts being then held together by the screws, it.

Switch cover or housing I! may be provided with ridges l6 adjacent the roller'dl and additional ridges H so as not to mar the surface of the switch cover. The movement of the parts may be limited by the same arrangementas shown in Fig. 7 or edges of the slots l4 may constitute the limiting means.

It will be seen that in all the embodiments the switch may be operated either by hand or by means of the foot-operated roller. In all of the embodiments the roller is loosely mounted on the journal or shaft member and canturn even though the switch mechanism proper has reached its limiting position.

What I claim is:

1. An electric switch actuating mechanism for a vacuum cleaner comprising means providing a channel open at the top, a rollerln said chantion thereto, a shaft member movable with said bar, a roller loosely mounted on said shaft memher, and a member providing a channel and bearing surface for said roller.

3. An electric switch actuating mechanism for a vacuum cleaner comprising means providing a channel open at the top, aroller in said channel bearing on the bottom thereof and projecting above said channel to be rolled by foot, a shaft member on which said roller is loosely mounted, and a switch arm operable by lateral movement of said shaft member. v

4. An electric switch actuating mechanism for a vacuum cleaner comprising. means providing a channel open at the top, a roller in said channel bearing on the bottom thereof and projecting above said channel to be rolled by foot, a shaft member on which said roller is loosely mounted, a hand switch bar on which said shaft member is mounted, and a-switch arm operable by movement of said roller and said bar.

5. An electric switch actuating mechanism for a vacuum cleaner comprising a switch arm, a pivoted lever connected to said switch arm so as to transmit motion thereto, a roller loosely mounted on the end of said lever, and a supporting surface iorsaid roller.

. 6. An electric switch actuating mechanism for a vacuum cleaner comprising a roller loosely mounted on a movable arm, a hand bar interconnected to move with' said arm, a switch arm movable thereby, and a supporting surface for said roller. 1

X 7. A vacuum cleaner unit comprising a horizontally mounted casing, a switch mounted within said casing having a switch arm projecting through the top thereof, a channel member secured to the top of said casing, a roller mounted to roll in and be supported by said channel member and being movable by foot contact, and meansfor transmitting motion from said roller to said switch arm.

8. A vacuum cleaner unit having a housing member, an electric switch, a foot operated roller projecting above said housing member for actuating said switch, means for supporting said roller directly beneath the place of application of the foot, and a ridge on said housing member adjacent said roller.

aoraaaa ing said roller directly beneath the place of contact with the foot.

10. An electric switch actuating mechanism or a vacuum cleaner including a switch housing, a pivotally mounted switch arm projecting into said housing, a slidably mounted bar formed with a recess therein, one end of said switch arm extending into said recess so that longitudinal movement of said bar causes pivotal movement of said arm, a shaft member movable with said bar, a roller rotatabiy mounted on said shaft member, and a member providing a channel and bearing surface for said roller.

11. A foot operated switch assembly particularly adapted for use with an electric motor driven vacuum cleaner having a housing for the motor and coacting parts, comprising: a switch casing rigidly connected to the housing, a spring pressed toggle switch operatively connected into the motor circuit and including a pivotally mounted switch arm, a swingably mounted operating lever for said switch having anoutwardly projecting head arranged to be actuated by the foot of an operator, said lever having a loose operating connection with said switch arm whereby when the toggle is actuated past dead center it will throw with a snap action irrespective of the speed of travel of said lever, said casing being constructed to limit travel of said lever and to act as an abutment to protect the lever against excessive foot pressure.

12. An electric switch actuating mechanism for a vacuum cleaner including a switch arm movable to open and close a switch, a pivotally I mounted foot-operated member connected to said arm so as to transmit motion thereto, and means for supporting said member in all positions directly beneath the point of application of the foot.

13. An electric switch actuating mechanism for a vacuum cleaner including a switch arm movable in a plane to open and close a switch. a member movable in a plane substantially at right angles to the first mentioned plane and connected to said arm so as to transmit motion thereto, a roller adapted to be contacted by the operators foot loosely mounted on said member, and means forming a track for supporting said roller.

is. An electric switch actuating mechanism for a vacuum cleaner including a switch arm movable to open and close a switch, a pivotally mounted member connected to said arm so as to transmit motion thereto, a roller loosely mounted on said arm and adapted to be contacted by the operators foot, and an arcuate track for supporting said roller.

GUSTAF EINAR LOFGREN. 

